Growing Hearts
by She's So High
Summary: Five years after the Sanq Kingdom was attacked, things have begun to change. But others, like the threat of OZ stay the same. It will be a long road to victory over OZ . . . especially when no one knows the battle has begun.
1. Chapter one

Growing Hearts

By: Lady DeathAngel

Disclaimer: Hm, I wonder, do I own Gundam Wing? ::taps head Pooh style:: Think, think, think . . . nope, don't own 'em. Gundam Wing and all its characters, sadly, aren't mine and belong to their respective creators. I am making *no* money off of this, or any other way for that matter, so don't sue me. You wouldn't get anything interesting anyway.

Warnings: OMG! There are none for this chapter! No cussing, no sex, no gore! Wow, I'm getting soft or something. There will be some small words later on maybe, definitely gore, and possible lime situations. But for now, I've only rated it PG-13 for future chapters and some slightly mature subjects.

A/N: Okay, this popped out of NOWHERE. Actually, I think I was reading a novel or something and all of a sudden I thought, 'Hm, Duo and Hilde in really old England . . . Relena a princess . . ." And slowly and steadily a plot was formed. I'm pretty proud of it, mostly because I've never done an AU piece set in a timeline anytime before 2090 AD. I don't like to mess with things that have already happened, and instead opt to create my own worlds. However, this time I decided to tweak things so that it's kind of a fantasy (minus the dragons and fairies).

  
  


Sometimes things happen that are unexplainable. Sometimes the explanations are just as farfetched as the stories, making you wonder what's true. And what isn't. But in the little town of Dartslun, a small village that was part of a small kingdom, strange things happened all of the time and they became the norm for its people.

Unfortunately, the stories about the things that happened could never remain contained within the Sanq Kingdom, and other kingdoms and villages heard the tales. And the Sanq Kingdom as well as Dartslun earned reputations as the kingdom and town that birthed witches and the very breeding grounds of evil. 

The worst thing was, it was true. Witches did reside in Dartslun as did the god of death himself. But to call it the breeding ground of evil was far off. Because evil's real home wasn't Dartslun at all. Or even the Sanq Kingdom. It was a far off kingdom called OZ, and they would do anything to infect all other kingdoms with that evil.

  
  


~*~

  
  


"Lady Relena! Lady Relena please put that bird down! It's dirty and disgusting and it will get your dress all dirty!"

A young girl of about ten-years-old turned with a hmph to her nanny. "It's hurt." She said. "I can't leave it here to die."

She held out the sparrow in her tiny hands. It was obvious that the poor creature's wing was broken, and it did look to be in terrible pain. But it wasn't the princess's job to take care of injured animals. 

Still, as Anna, the girl's nanny, looked down into her charge's blue-green eyes, she knew that *she* couldn't leave it either.

Anna sighed and then nodded. "All right then. Come with me. We'll take the bird to the town healer."

Relena's smile was radiant. "Thank you Miss Anna!" She cried, cradling the bird in one hand against her body, and gathering her dress into the other.

  
  


~*~

  
  


It didn't take very long for them to reach Dartslun. A few minutes at the most. But it was Relena's first time in the town, and she was awestruck. And Anna had to constantly remind her that the sooner the bird was given to the town healer, the sooner it would get better.

The fifth time Anna had to admonish her Relena sighed. "I know Anna, but it's brilliant out here! I've never seen so many people."

"Yes you have. At the ball last week. There were plenty of people."

Relena made a face. "But they were all *boring*. These people are interesting."

"They are also poor, and could make a pretty penny off of your head. So let's get moving."

Relena frowned as she followed in Anna's footsteps. She seemed so skittish and frightened. Kind of like the bird had first been when Relena had approached it. She didn't understand why Anna was in such a hurry to leave such a wonderful place. Relena certainly wasn't in a hurry. 

Still, she didn't want to get lost. Which was why she dropped her own dress skirt, and wrapped a hand around Anna's. She was traveling so fast though, that Relena was practically sprinting to keep up.

When they finally reached the apothecary, Relena was panting for breath. She opened her mouth to tell, no, order Anna to slow down next time, but Anna had the strangest look on her face. She seemed beyond terrified of going in. 

But go in she did, with Relena on her heels.

"Excuse me." Anna called in a tone she dared not use at the castle. "Excuse me but I'm here to see the Old Woman, is she here?"

For a few moments there wasn't an answer. But then a girl around the age of fourteen descended the steps. 

Her hair was twisted into two odd pigtails that hung just an inch above her shoulders. She didn't look happy to see either Anna or Relena, and for a moment Relena could understand why. Anna seemed to be being very disrespectful. 

"What do you want?" The girl asked. 

"We want to speak with the healer of this town."

"She has a name you know. Lin Po. And she is unavailable at the moment."

Relena saw a strange look pass through Anna's eyes and she lifted a hand as if to strike the girl. 

"You shouldn't be impertinent in the presence of your elder . . ."

But Relena had already moved in front of the girl and took the blow herself. It hurt, but she wouldn't show it. Instead she glared up at Anna. 

"You should stop being so impertinent in the presence of your princess." She said in a low voice her mother had taught her to use. 

Anna's eyes widened and filled with fear. "I'm so sorry Lady Relena. I didn't mean . . ." 

But Relena wasn't listening. Instead she turned to the other girl.

"What's your name?" She asked her.

"Um, Sally. Sally Po."

Relena nodded. "And I am Princess Relena Peacecraft of the Sanq Kingdom. I'm sorry about Anna, she forgot why we were here." 

Relena held out the hand that had held carefully onto the bird. "This poor fellow was found outside the castle. He took a fall, it seems, and broke his wing. None of the castle healers would dare touch him, so we came here to ask Lin Po for help."

Sally's blue-gray eyes were wide as she gazed at the young princess. She couldn't have been older than ten, and yet she held herself with all the grace and dignity of a sixty year old woman. She was kind too, not spoiled as many believed the Peacecraft children to be. And she had taken the slap that had been meant for her.

Sally's face broke into a smile. "I'm sure she'd love to help." She said.

"Thank you!" Relena cried, her mouth curving upward. "Thank you so much!"

Sally held out a hand for the bird, and Relena relinquished it.

"I'll never forget this." Relena said. "You are very kind and I'll never forget that either." 

And then she turned to a red-faced Anna. "I wish to go home." The little girl stated. "And this time you won't walk so fast."

Anna could do nothing but comply.

  
  


~*~

  
  


"Wow! You met the princess?"

Sally smiled at her young friend Hilde. "Yeah. She was so nice too! The woman with her was mean though."

Hilde propped her small, heart-shaped face in her hands and rested her elbows on the ground.

"Wow." She breathed again.

The little girl found it hard to believe that Sally had met royalty. It really wasn't fair. At least she didn't think so. Sally had all the luck. 

"So, is she pretty?" Hilde asked.

Sally shrugged. "Not yet. She's still young, like you. But I bet she will be. She'll probably be gorgeous with long blonde hair and pretty blue eyes and beautiful gowns and all the men in the kingdom will love her for it." Sally sighed. "I won't be pretty like that."

Hilde frowned. "Yes you will. You'll have long blonde hair too, and your eyes are sorta blue. And you have a gift she doesn't. You can heal. Just like Lin."

"That's not really a gift. People think we're both evil because we're healing witches."

"Come on, it's wonderful that you can heal. And when they're sick they'll love you for being a healing witch."

Sally smiled softly. "Yeah, I suppose so."

Hilde shook her head, her shoulder length blue-black hair swinging. "No. I *know* so."

Sally opened her mouth to say something more when there was a loud knock on the door. They both stood up and raced down the stairs. It was Hilde's mother. Her blue eyes blazed as she stared up at her daughter.

"Where have you been?" She demanded. "Your father's been worried sick about you and look at you. You've been out playing and having fun."

Hilde bit her lip and looked down at her feet. 

"Well? Don't just stand there, get down here right this instant. We're going home."

Hilde nodded and whispered good-bye to Sally. She ran down the stairs and to her mom. The woman grabbed Hilde's arm, her nails biting into her skin. Hilde fought down a whimper and allowed her mother to drag her out and into the street.

Hilde knew people were watching. Everyone knew about Hilde's mother and father and their family problems. They all sympathized with Hilde, but no one ever made a move to help her. 

She lowered her beet red face, and tried to ignore the whispers of some of the town women. It didn't work.

"That poor thing." One woman said. "I feel for her, I really do."

"I know. It's terrible, the way her drunkard parents treat her. She visits Lin Po everyday for the bruises and broken bones."

On and on the conversation went, making Hilde feel even more humiliated. Why couldn't they stop talking about it and leave her alone? And why, if they wouldn't leave her alone, didn't they help?

  
  


~*~

  
  


"You stupid girl! How many times do I have to tell you not to go visit that crack pot old woman and her daughter?"

"Granddaughter." Hilde corrected softly.

She cried out as her father's fist connected with her cheek. "Don't you dare talk to me like that! You aren't some princess and I'm not some servant you can talk down to."

"I didn't mean to." She said earnestly, staring up at her father with wounded blue eyes.

He glared down at her. "Like hell you didn't mean it. You know that you think you can just treat your mother and I like we're lower'n you just because everybody in town feels sorry for you."

He hit her again, her small body slamming into the wall behind her. "But you can't." He hissed. "Because at the end of the day *we're* the ones who are stronger than you are. And *we're* the ones who are older than you are. And *we're* the ones who are smarter than you are."

He walked over to her, and yanked her up by the front of her dress. "Don't you ever," he slapped her. "Ever," again. "*Ever*," twice more. "Go to see them again. Do you hear me?"

When she didn't answer he dropped her and kicked her in the side. "Do you hear me?!"

"Yes!" She cried around the blood filling her mouth.

Her father didn't say anything more. He just walked away, leaving his daughter on the floor. A few minutes later her mother walked by. She tsked. 

"You deserved it you know." She said. "Worthless little things like you deserve every bad thing that happens to them."

Hilde glared up at her. "No one deserves something as awful and evil as you." Hilde said. 

Her mother's eyes widened and then she ran through the house screaming for Hilde's father.

Hilde forced herself to her feet and ran for all she was worth to the door. She had it opened when she heard a yell. It was her father.

"Get back here!" He cried.

Hilde shook her head. 

"No." She said. "I'm leaving. And when I come back, if I come back, I won't be littler or dumber or weaker than you. I'm going to grow up and become strong and smart. And if you've any human left in you, you'll let me go."

They stared at her. At their ten-year-old daughter. And all at once they saw something in her that frightened them both. Maybe it was the fire shining in her eyes, or the tone of voice she used. Or maybe they were just seeing the woman she would become. Whatever it was, whatever they saw, it was enough because it put the fear of God in their hearts, and nearly sent them to their knees praying that she wouldn't remember them, or that she wouldn't think them worth her time when she was grown and intelligent and strong. 

Hilde glared at them for a moment more before leaving. She closed the door softly, the soft click of it resounding through the room like a threat. Or a promise of things yet to come.

TBC . . .

A/N: Okay, so what did you think? Was it sucky? Was it wonderful? Please tell, me, I need to know! Anyway, I'm pretty much finished with chap. 2, so it'll be up ASAP. Love ya, bye!


	2. Chapter two

Growing Hearts

By: Lady DeathAngel

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or it's characters and I'm making no money off of this, so please don't sue me.

Warnings: None for this chapter either. ^.^;

A/N: I am sooooo sorry that it's taken me so long to update. I've had this chapter done for a long time but I was just too lazy to post. ^^; But, to make up for it, I'm posting two chapters! We'll get this thing done yet.

  
  
  
  


Relena stared at her reflection in the mirror and fingered the bruise forming on her cheek. It stung. She sighed and rested her head in her hand, and just stared at herself. 

It was all her fault. Anna was packing at that moment and being sent away because of her. She couldn't stand it. The thought of causing someone else pain or suffering made her feel horrible inside. 

She heard a soft sound and turned to see her brother Milliardo and his friend Lucrezia Noin coming through a secret door in her wall.

"So, I heard that old biddy is being given the heave-ho." Her brother said.

Relena nodded and sniffed.

Lucrezia raised an eyebrow. "Are you . . . are you *crying*?"

Relena nodded again and wiped her eyes.

"Why ever for?"

"B-because it's a-a-all my fault!" She stuttered before starting to sob loudly.

Both Lucrezia and Milliardo made their way to her. Lucrezia patted her on the back while Milliardo knelt beneath her so he could see her face. He let out a low whistle when he did and then turned her around in her seat and lifted her face to the mirror.

"See that?" He asked, pointing to her cheek. "She gave that to you didn't she? She *hit* you. How could you possibly want a person who would hit someone younger and weaker than them in this castle?"

"She didn't mean to hit me. She meant to hit someone else."

Milliardo shook his head and turned to Lucrezia. "See that Lu? She thinks it's better that that woman wanted to hit someone else instead of her." He turned back to Relena. "Listen, you know father doesn't approve of violence that isn't necessary. He hated the idea of me becoming a page two years ago. But that, well, *that* couldn't be avoided because he needs good soldiers. This though? This was uncalled for and not provoked. And to hear you tell your side of the story . . ."

"You were listening in?" Relena asked indignantly.

He waved a nonchalant hand. "Never mind that. It's just that if someone were to have accidentally overheard you explaining things to father, well, they would know she wasn't being very nice anyway."

Relena looked down at her hands. "She wasn't."

Milliardo patted her on the shoulder. "Well, that settles it then! I wouldn't want my little sister around not nice people. It could make her even more not nice than she already is."

Relena glared up at him in mock anger. "I *am* nice." She said.

He raised an eyebrow at her. "Oh?"

She nodded. "Of course. Otherwise, father wouldn't like me best."

  
  


~*~

Hilde wasn't sure how long she'd been wandering around town. She was more than a bit disoriented. Her head throbbed and her chest was nothing but a map of sharp, searing pains. Every single step she took was pure torture.

For one so young, it was scary to be out alone at night. She knew no one would harm her, for some reason she just knew it, but that thought didn't help much. She didn't know what she would do in the morning. Or the next day. Or the day after that. She was afraid she would become homeless and poor and have to steal out of peoples pockets and from food vendors just to stay alive.

Of course she knew that she could always stay with Sally. But that was the first place her parents would look if, and when, they decided they weren't going to let their daughter get away. Hilde needed somewhere safe to go. Somewhere where no one, most of all her parents, would ever think to look for her.

But how to find that place? 

Hilde must have walked for hours. At least that was how it seemed to her. She passed small homes with windows lit. The soft sounds of laughter and general familial happiness drifting from them. She passed darkened houses with no lights on at all. She sprinted past those, as much as it hurt, because she felt as if someone would grab her that she couldn't see.

Eventually she couldn't walk any longer. Her little legs were too tired, her body too bruised, and her mind too pained for her to go on. She lifted a heavy head and saw a large building in the distance. She took carefully measured steps toward it. 

She wanted to run. The dark alley she was in frightened her. But she couldn't because she hurt too much. She got closer and closer, and the door loomed nearer and nearer. Lights were lit in some of the windows and she could hear the laughter of children. It sounded like heaven. Or at least a safe haven. She made it to the door and lifted a hand to knock. 

One small fist connected with the solid wood of the entrance, and then she fainted dead away.

~*~

  
  


A young boy had been running around the church, trying to avoid getting caught by his friend.

"I'm sorry Solo! Really! I didn't mean it!"

"What're you talkin' about Duo? You said I smell like Father Maxwell's breath in the morning!"

"I meant it in the nicest way possible!"

A frazzled looking nun was trailing them. "Boys! Boys please stop this instant!"

Duo glanced over his shoulder. "Sorry sister Helen, but I can't. If I do, Solo'll catch me!"

Sister Helen sighed. But didn't order them to stop. Instead she settled herself in a chair and watched. She knew that eventually Duo would get caught. His braid was too long and Solo too fast for that to be avoided. Still, she couldn't help but smile as she watched the evasive maneuvers he used.

He stopped suddenly and Solo, who hadn't had any warning knocked into him. 

"Hey Duo? What happened?"

"I heard a knock on the door." He said. "Hey Sister Helen, can you go check and see who it is?"

She stood up and nodded with a weary look at Duo. Sometimes his senses proved to be uncannily accurate. And though she hadn't heard anything, she could be sure that if Duo had, someone was at the door. Still, his ability to hear and know things others didn't was almost . . . unnatural.

Duo followed close behind Sister Helen, with Solo on his heels.

"What's wrong Duo?" Solo asked. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

"I don't know." Duo answered. "I just have a weird feeling is all."

"Is someone gonna . . . you know?"

"I don't know."

Solo bit his lip, wanting to ask his best friend more questions but knowing that he wouldn't want to answer any of them. That was Duo's problem though. For such a loud-mouthed child, he never opened up when it really mattered.

Sister Helen stopped at the door and turned around and looked down at the two boys.

"You two know the drill. If it's important business you need to skat."

They nodded dutifully and Sister Helen turned, confident that they'd leave if it was anything important. Unfortunately, whatever she'd been expecting, it hadn't been the little girl on the doorstep.

She quickly crossed herself and then knelt down. She held a hand a few inches away from the girl's mouth. A small burst of hot air greeted her palm, ensuring her that she was breathing. 

Sister Helen breathed her own sigh of relief and then lifted the girl's slight form in her arms and rushed past Duo and Solo in search of help.

The two boys watched her go.

"Is she going to die?" Solo asked softly. 

Duo's cobalt eyes filled with tears as he nodded. "Yeah."

Solo grabbed his friend by the shoulders and shook him. "You can stop it though, can't you? You can help her!" 

"I don't know . . ."

"You have to! You can't just let her die!" 

Duo noticed the somewhat panicked look in his friend's eyes and nodded. "Okay. I'll do my best."

  
  


~*~

  
  


Not many children were frightened of Duo. He was funny, kind, a bit annoying at times, but he was the kind of boy who got along with everyone. What they didn't know about him, what no one except Solo knew about him, was just how frightened of him they should have been.

As Duo walked into the girl's room later that night and knelt next to her bed, he was forced to recount that night he'd gotten lost in the forest on the outskirts of Dartslun.

It had been dark. And cold. And Duo had been so scared. His parents were gone, he had no home. He wasn't worth anything to anyone anymore. And that thought had scared him, especially since he'd only been seven years old. He'd wandered through the forest for hours and hours seemingly on end, until he'd reached the very core of the forest.

A part of him had known he should have been frightened. After all, all measure of murderous creatures supposedly dwelled there. But he was numb and death didn't scare him. The sooner he died the sooner he'd be with his parents again. What was wrong with that? 

His bold thinking had led him straight to the god of death, a specter feared by many, but not by Duo. Duo had seen the shrouded figure holding the long, curved, scythe, and had merely laughed. An empty laugh meant to convey the emptiness he'd felt.

Death had turned his hooded head toward the chuckling youngster and had asked in a ghostly voice, "What are you laughing at Child? Are you scared?"

Duo shook his head. "No. You just aren't all you're made out to be, are you?"

"What do you mean?"

Duo had shrugged. "I'd just expected somebody big. I didn't think someone so weak would be the end of my parents."

There had been a moment of silence and then, "Why aren't you scared?"

"Should I be?"

"Everyone is afraid of death. Afraid of me."

Duo had merely sneered. "Yeah well, maybe I see you and I see the only thing keeping me from my mother and father. You're just another obstacle."

"Or maybe your friend."

"What?"

"I'm going to give you a gift." Death said. "And with it, you can sense when I'm approaching."

"What good'll that do if I can't stop you from coming?"

Death shrugged. "That's for me to know, and you to figure out."

Duo's look was skeptical. "I don't want your gift."

"Too bad." Death said. "It's yours whether you want it or not. It's your gift. It's your curse. I will be your shadow, and your companion. Your friend and your foe. I'll follow you everywhere and take all I can take. And by the end of it, you'll be able to call yourself the god of death as well. From this day on boy, you are my apprentice."

From that day on it was true too. Duo felt Death like a cold breeze drifting in and out of his body. He knew when it was coming. It was there, breathing down his neck and trying to take the girl before him away.

He closed his eyes and laid his hands over her body. His left palm above her eyes, his other above her heart. 

'Where are you?' Duo called in his mind. 'I know you're there. Show yourself.'

There was a deep chuckle and then a cloaked figure appeared in the room. 

"Why Duo," He said. "How nice of you to pay a visit."

Duo glared at him. 'Ha, ha. You know why I called you. Let her go.'

Duo could sense Death's amused gaze on him and then on the girl. "Why? She's nothing to you. No one. Why should I spare her?"

Duo glared at him. "What could she possibly have done wrong?" He asked. "She's as young as I am, she can't be bad."

"I didn't ask you that. I asked why spare her if no one wants her? Even her own parents didn't want her."

Duo turned to stare down at the girl. Her dark hair was a black so light it looked almost blue. Her eyes were closed, her eyelashes fanning bruised cheeks. She looked very thin and frail and not at all the kind of girl who had a loving family. She looked like he had the few months he'd been an orphan with Solo before Sister Helen had found them. No one had wanted them either.

"I want her." Duo said finally.

"What?" Death asked in surprise.

Duo looked over at him.

"I said I want her. I want to keep her."

Death's lifeless, black eyes narrowed before he started to fade away in resignation. 

"Fine." He said. "I'll spare her."

He disappeared then, leaving Duo alone with the girl. He wiped a strand of hair away from her face and gazed at her. 

"Well," He said. "I guess you're stuck with me."

The girl's mouth curved into a smile. "Thank you." She whispered, leaving Duo to gape at her for hours, until Sister Helen told him it was time to go to sleep.

A/N: so, what did you think? Please review and if you have any ideas (I've got an idea of what I'm going to do but I'd like to hear what others think) please email me. Thanks! Ja ne! ^.~

  
  



	3. Chapter three

Growing Hearts

By: Lady DeathAngel

Disclaimer: I don't own GW or it's characters and I'm not making any money off of this so please don't sue me. ^.^

Warnings: None really . . . yet. ^^; Later there will be need for them . . . a big need. But for now things are peaceful. For now . . . ^.~

A/N: Chapter three is up! Yay! Well, the plot thickens now, and I hope you enjoy it.

  
  


Four Years Later

"Your Highness, word has come from the Western most kingdoms about the OZ situation."

The ruler of the Sanq Kingdom, King Peacecraft, glanced at his young daughter and then at his advisor and then back to Relena. "I'm terribly sorry . . ."

She waved a hand to assure him it didn't matter a mite. "Yes, yes. I know of your duties Father, and this is, after all, much more important than a menial birthday celebration." 

His eyes flashed with pain for his daughter, but he nodded and turned to leave the room, his advisor at his heels.

Relena watched them go through cool, blue-green eyes. When he was gone she sighed and walked to her window.

"It wouldn't hurt him to make an effort you know." She said to the bird on the window sill. "I know that this OZ business is grave, of course, but it's my birthday." She laid her chin in her hands, her lips pouting. "Mother says to be patient. She also says to be grateful that Father took the time to plan this ball for me. But it's not for me. Not really. It's for the benefit of him and all of the other kings and barons and marquesses and dukes. Their political benefits."

The bird chirped, the sound long and wailing. She smiled softly at it. "Yes, I knew you'd understand where I was coming from. No one else does, certainly." She felt tears prick her eyelids. "Oh this is so stupid! I'm fourteen today! I should be enjoying myself, not crying and whining like a baby!"

The bird nodded and chirped its ascent. "So you agree do you? I thought you would."

She stood up and stroked the bird's soft head with an equally soft finger before shooing him out of her room. "Before Laura finds you." She said.

Relena walked to the door and opened it, stepping out into the drafty corridors of the castle. She really needed to begin to find the good things in life again. She was a year older, and a year wiser. Her brother was coming back for a visit. Of course it was only because he and his fellow knight Treize and their squires were passing through. Still, she hadn't seen him in so long, it would be great to be able to yank on his long blonde tresses and call him a spoiled old codger like old times.

That thought in her mind, she made her way to the dining room for breakfast, a slight bounce in her step.

~*~

  
  


Hilde squirmed in her saddle, slightly restless. She'd been sitting too long. She really needed to stretch. But Duo and Milliardo and Solo and Treize were still holding up just fine so she had to, too.

Still, Hilde couldn't help but think how absolutely unfair life was treating her. It had been *her* idea for her and Duo and Solo to make a journey to Neron to become pages and then squires and hopefully knights as well. They hadn't understood of course, *why* she'd wanted to do it. Well, perhaps they had, but they were still against it.

"Why do you have to pretend to be a *boy* to be happy?" Solo had asked. 

"She's obviously jealous of us." Duo had retorted with a light-hearted smirk. "She can't take it anymore and she's finally realized the only good woman is one who wants to be a man."

Hilde had smacked him in the face with her pillow. "You know that's not it Duo. I just need to prove to myself that I can do this. You know, be strong and smart."

"And only men can be strong and smart, is that it?" He'd asked with raised eyebrow.

"No." Hilde had said with a blush. "But you have better chances than me because you're missing things up here," she indicated her chest. "And make up for the lack of anatomy down there." She indicated . . . other places. 

Both boys snorted but sobered quickly.

"Is this about your parents?" Solo had asked quietly.

Hilde's silence had been all the answer they needed. 

Finally they'd both sighed and agreed, saying she acted more like a guy than a girl anyway.

Still, when they'd become pages and then squires, Hilde hadn't expected to be the fifth wheel. But no one wanted a short, small boned, feminine looking squire to call his own. So Hilde had been forced to travel with Duo and Solo. She felt so alone with them. The four of them being males they exchanged certain looks that Hilde couldn't, and honestly didn't want to, understand. 

She had to bathe separately from them. Had to dig her own latrine. Had to hide her budding breasts behind layers of gauze that caused her to ache. They didn't know she was a girl obviously, and Hilde really couldn't complain. It had been her brilliant idea anyway. It just hadn't worked out the way she'd wanted it to. 

"We're stopping here to water our horses." Milliardo called over his shoulder to Solo, Treize, and Hilde. They all nodded and turned the reins to a stream that flowed through the forest. 

As the horses rested Hilde took the chance to stretch slightly. God's Bones but her thighs hurt. She'd known this would happen though. Horseback riding had never been her 'thing'. She could fence with the best of them. She was the best archer. She could use a dagger and hold her own in sword fights against opponents three times bigger than she was. But riding horses? Something she could definitely live without.

"Hey Deux, come over here a minute!" 

Hild's head shot up at the sound of the name her friends had given her. She yelled a quick okay and then jogged toward them. 

"What is it?" She asked. 

"You've got the best eyes of any of us." Solo said, a slight waver in his voice. "Could you climb that tree and tell us what you see?"

Hilde gave him a look laced with concern and then proceeded to shimmy up the tree. When she was high up enough, and seated comfortably, she gazed across the horizon. It took her a few minutes until she spotted it.

"I see a campsite!" She yelled down. "It looks pretty large, I'd say more than a hundred men definitely."

"Do you see a flag?" Solo called back up.

She squinted her eyes and then they widened with disbelief. She squeezed her eyes shut a moment before opening them again and starting down the tree at such a hurried pace she fell. She would have hit the ground hard, if Duo hadn't caught her. 

She started to thank him, and then realized he wasn't setting her down. She blushed and looked up, ready to yell at him, but he wasn't looking at her. His eyes were glassy and Hilde's heart turned to ice.

"You feel it, don't you Duo?" She whispered. 

He blinked, a little life returning to his face. He set her down and nodded. "Yeah."

"It's Oz." She said softly before turning and running through the trees in search of Treize and Milliardo.

  
  


~*~

  
  


Relena was bored. She gazed out at the sea of people before her and frowned. She didn't know hardly any of these people. And the ones she did recognize, well, they were to far away for her to even consider speaking with. 

"Excuse me Your Highness." Relena turned to see Laura. 

"Yes Laura?"

"Your father has requested that you join him on the ballroom floor. There are some people he would like for you to meet."

Relena nodded. "I will go to him at once." At least then she wouldn't be forced to sit still and watch others having fun. Now she would just be mingling with those having fun.

As she neared her father she saw his eyes land on her. He smiled and beckoned her forward more quickly. "There she is! The young woman of the hour!"

She smiled at her father's obvious happiness.

"Relena, I would like you to meet Master Zhing Shin. He is the leader of the Dragon clan from the far Eastern kingdoms."

Relena turned to face him and, placing her hands on her thighs palms first, she bowed. "Nice to meet you." She said softly.

When she rose she saw that he was smiling from ear to ear. "What a clever child!" He said before bowing. When he once again rose, he was facing her father. "And how did she know our custom of greeting and thanks?" He asked genially.

"I thought it would benefit my children to know, not only our customs, but also those of other countries, kingdoms, and cultures."

Master Zhing Shin seemed to like that response as he continued to speak with her father animatedly. She had blocked the voice however, in favor of another. It was a female voice.

"Would you look at her? She doesn't deserve to know our customs. She taints our traditions when she enacts them."

"Meilan!" A male voice said. "Watch your language. This is, after all, her country. It would profit you to learn some manners about how to act in the presence of royalty other than yourself. Especially as my wife."

Relena was glad to have the man admonish his wife, but he hadn't defended Relena either. And the other girl's hot words made her blush.

"Don't mind them." Another male voice said.

Relena turned and found herself gazing into some of the greenest eyes she'd ever seen. She backed up a step and more of his face came into her line of vision. He had a nice, aristocratic nose. Smooth lips that curved into a kind smile. And a head of blond hair. 

"Um, who are . . ." 

"Quatre." He said quickly on a bow. "Quatre Raberba Winner." 

She curtsied. "I'm Relena. Relena Peacecraft."

She straightened and smiled. "So, you are the legendary Quatre Winner. I've heard a lot about you and your kingdom. You are also from the far East are you not?"

He nodded. "That I am. That is why I can tell you for a fact, Meilan is not to be taken seriously. She's still young and headstrong. And willful."

Relena glanced behind him to see the couple who had been speaking about her only moments before. 

"She's beautiful." Relena said, taking in the skillfully woven jet-black hair and prettily tilted, dark eyes. 

"Yes. She is. And she knows it."

"Is the young man with her her *husband*? Aren't they awfully . . . *young*?"

Quatre shrugged. "Not really. I was a bit surprised to hear that you weren't already betrothed, Princess. It's very natural for royal families to join their children in marriage to gain strong allies and better their chances in a war."

Relena nodded. Actually, the man was handsome as well. His dark hair was pulled back from his head in a tight ponytail just above his nape. His eyes were tilted upward as well, giving him an air of intelligence and strength. 

"Do you know them well?" Relena asked. 

"Well enough. Although, my father would prefer that I didn't see them so much. Theirs is a family line proud of fighting ability and strength. My father believes in total pacifism."

Relena glanced at her own father with a sad smile. "So did my father. Until a year ago."

  
  


~*~

  
  


Relena had to admit that she was very glad to have met Quatre. He was intelligent unlike most men that she knew. And she found she could talk to him for endless amounts of time. He was also a good dancer, something that had both shocked and pleased her. Most of the young men she'd danced with before Quatre wouldn't stop stepping on her toes. 

They sat next to each other as the lights in the hall dimmed. 

"My father invited some entertainers from a western kingdom." Relena whispered to Quatre. 

"I wonder if they're any good." He whispered back.

"Lords and Ladies!" A voice called. "I present to you, Linalie's astoundingly amazing acrobatic troupe."

There was a smattering of applause that rose to a roar as the lights went back on just as a woman came flying from the air only to land on two hands on the ground and flip across the room, landing finally in a man's arms.

"It seems that they are *very* good." Relena said, leaning toward Quatre. 

He nodded. "Yes it certainly does."

The show continued just like it started. High flying men and women who landed lightly on elephants backs. The most amazing things though, were the two introduced as Trowa and Catherine. They had each brought with them a large cat. Trowa a lion and Catherine a tiger. 

Relena couldn't help but gasp when they both entered on the backs of their animals. They flipped off and landed behind the cats, who each gave a mighty roar. 

They gave quite a show with the lion and tiger, but that was nothing compared to what they did after leaving the room and then reentering. 

Trowa walked confidently to a board and stood still, arms and legs outstretched. Catherine walked to a table a ways away from the board. She smiled at him and winked before reaching behind her. The lights in the room glinted off the silver metal of the daggers she held, fanned out, in her right hand.

Relena realized their intent and grasped Quatre's hand tightly. She squeezed her eyes shut as the first dagger was released. She heard it thud as it imbedded itself in the wood. When there was no yell of pain, only yells from the crowd, she opened her eyes again. 

The dagger had landed scant centimeters away from Trowa's face. Relena breathed a sigh of relief and clapped and shouted with everyone else. 

Catherine threw twelve more daggers until Trowa's entire form was outlined by the hilts. That was how the show ended, and Relena was sad that it did. That had been a wonderful gift for her birthday, and it had cheered her considerably. She didn't want to see them go.

She got her wish in a way, when the doors to the front hall could be heard bursting open and a group of disheveled people entered.

  
  


~*~

Quatre saw the men enter and immediately knew something was wrong. His fears were confirmed when a man with long blond hair ran up to the king and whispered something to him urgently. 

The king's face paled visibly. And he shook his head in disbelief. The entire hall had fallen silent which made the blonde man's next words audible. 

"It's true, Father. OZ is coming and they're not very far."

Quatre's eyes widened and he felt someone's hands on his arm. He looked down to see Relena staring up at him, her own pretty eyes wide as tea saucers in her eyes.

Someone in the hall screamed and another yelled that it couldn't be true.

"It is!" A man with brown hair yelled. "Our squires saw their camp!"

A man who had made his way to the knight and the three young men behind him grabbed one with red-blonde hair and shook him. "Tell us what happened boy."

"We, sensed something was wrong." He said haltingly. "That is, Duo here, and I. But neither of us would ever make good scouts, our eyes aren't that dependable. So we asked Hil . . . Deux to climb up a tree and tell us what sh . . . he saw. He called down that he'd seen a large camp that could have been easily over a hundred men. And we asked him to look for a flag and he did and when he came back down he told us he'd seen an OZ flag."

The man laughed. "So this is based on the story of three kids? What are we all worked up for then? This is probably just a story made up to get them and their knights famous." He turned to sneer at them. "Well I'll tell you what you are *really* going to get. Time in a dungeon!"

He grabbed Solo's arm and was reaching for the one with short dark hair when a boy with long, brown hair that hung down his back in a braid yelled for him to stop.

"We wouldn't lie about something like this! It's part of the Code of Honor not to lie!"

The man sneered. "And what does the Code mean to a couple of future commoner vigilantes?"

"You may think it means naught to them." Treize said. All eyes turned to him. "But you can believe me, the son of a duke and Prince Milliardo's friend, when I say that these squires would never lie. We wouldn't permit it. And if you don't take their, and our, word that OZ is on the move, than anything that happens, the many that will die, the fields that will burn, the fault lies in your hands. Not ours."

There was silence for a few long moments, which Relena removed her hands and buried her face in them instead.

Quatre leaned down. "Lady Relena?" he said softly. 

She looked up at him, her eyes dark and filled with tears that threatened to spill over. "What if something happens?" She asked. "I couldn't stand it. I'd die if something happened to my family."

Quatre took her hand in his and brought it to his mouth. His lips brushed the skin of the back of her hand and after the kiss he continued to hold her hand. 

"Please don't worry Relena." He whispered. 

She stared at him for a moment before nodding. "Okay." She breathed.

What Quatre couldn't and didn't want to say was that he was worried as well. And that all of Relena's fears were well placed.

A/N: As always, please review. I love hearing from my readers. Ja! ^.~


	4. Chapter four

Growing Hearts

By Lady DeathAngel

Disclaimer: I don't own the GW characters, but the plot is mine. So don't sue me and don't steal it. ^.^

Warnings: None really, maybe a curse word or two, but it's pretty mild stuff at the moment

A/N: Well, here it is. Another chapter of my fic. Sorry it's taken me so long to update, but with school and stuff it's hard to find time to do this. ^.^; Anyway thanks for the reviews and please enjoy the story!

  
  


"Are you certain about what you saw?" 

Duo glanced sideways at Hilde. She had been questioned by all manner of people. Some of them had absolutely no business knowing anything about what she had to say. Others had every right to know. And they had no scruples when it came to exercising those rights. 

"I'm sure Sir." She said to the man who had tried to prove them liars earlier.

"About how far away were they?"

"At least ten miles away from where we stopped to rest. I can't be sure though. They were fairly close."

"You must have good eyes, to see that far. How can you be sure it was even an OZ flag you saw flying."

Duo watched as Hilde's blue eyes flashed with indignance at the fact that he doubted her ability. 

"It's a large black flag." She started, her eyes hard. "Red flames decorate the four corners of the flag and on the center is a large, silver, skull with small red flames centered in its eye sockets and open mouth. It's garish and horrible and no other kingdom has a flag like it."

"You could just be describing what you remember seeing in the past." 

Hilde stood up and slapped her hands on the table in front of her. "I wouldn't lie about something like this dammit!"

He backhanded her viciously, causing her to fall back into her chair. She held a hand to a burning cheek, but didn't say anything else.

"You will cease your presumptuousness and remember your place boy!"

"That's a mighty big word," she said. "Try not to choke on it."

He hit her again. She wiped the corner of her mouth and glared at him. 

"I wouldn't lie *Sir*. I saw an OZ flag and they're coming. And when you're lying on the ground screaming for the god of death to take your soul quicker because the OZ soldiers didn't gut you properly, you think of me and you remember what I said. I. Don't. Lie."

He turned red and turned to Duo and Solo. "You take your friend out of here." He hissed through clenched teeth. "You take him and get the hell out before I lose my temper."

Duo complied gladly, and took Hilde's arm. "Come on Deux. I don't think we're welcome."

She nodded, yanked her arm out of Duo's grip, and started out the door. She didn't look back, but Duo did. And the look of hate he saw in the man's eyes sent a stab of fear through his body.

He followed Solo and Hilde out, but didn't walk with them to the end of the hall.

"You should have been more respectful. You wouldn't have been hit if you hadn't been so cheeky."

"I can't help it. He was being an ass. And besides, you and Duo would have done it. Why can't I?"

"Because you're a g . . . hey!" He was cut off by Hilde grabbing his arm. 

"What's wrong?" He asked.

She inclined her head in Duo's direction. He was standing beside the door his eyes closed. He listened hard and heard the words that the man spoke clearly, even though many yards and thick stonewalls and doors separated them. 

Solo and Hilde walked over to him, Hilde laying a gentle hand on his shoulder. 

"Is it, you know who?" Solo asked.

Duo shook his head, his eyes wide with fear. "No. It's that man. I could overhear him talking to himself."

"What did he say?" Hilde asked.

"He said that the time was coming soon for this kingdom. That OZ was going to come tonight and murder the royal family and he was going to help them."

"He's an OZ spy." Solo breathed.

Hilde gasped. "We have to tell someone!"

"We can't." Solo said. "They would never believe him."

"But . . ."

Duo took a deep breath. "He's right."

"There has to be something we can do." Hilde insisted.

Duo shook his head. He knew, just as Solo did, that no one would believe he happened to hear a man talking to himself about a treasonous plot. It seemed the man was trusted by the king and to say anything slanderous against him would probably make them a few enemies. Duo would be killed himself, if he said anything like that.

Hilde was glaring at them both. "I didn't take two hits to the mouth during that man's quasi questioning, just so my answers could be used to help the enemy! We've got to make sure that he can't help OZ!"

"But how?"

She bit her lip. "I don't know."

And that was the problem right there. They needed to help. But they didn't know how.

  
  


~*~

The castle became shrouded in a blanket of fear that night. Anyone who could leave did. They wanted to help, they said, but they had their own lives to look after. It was disgusting, the number of cowards who turned tail and ran.

Those who stayed did so because they didn't believe in the young squires. They would have taken the word of Milliardo and Treize, but neither of them had seen the flag for themselves. They had believed Hilde and Duo and Solo when they'd told them what they had seen.

For Relena and Lucrezia, seeing Milliardo again became a bittersweet reunion. The king didn't even spend time with his own son except for when he was questioning him or asking for advice in how to guard the castle. The queen wanted to spend time with her only son, but her husband stole him away too many times for her to say more than a handful to words to him.

Quatre was forced away by his father, who refused to be involved in any fighting that may have taken place. Master Zhing Shin left as well, with the married royals of his kingdom. He did leave a few of his own personal soldiers orders to watch after Relena however. 

The circus troupe left later that night, a few hours behind schedule, after deciding instead of continuing on to the next kingdom they should just go home. In a way Relena wanted them gone instead of wanting them to stay because she didn't want them to be hurt just because OZ wanted to attack the Sanq Kingdom.

Hilde, Duo, and Solo were forced to stay in a room together with guards posted at both sides of the door. Duo's yelling that they would need all the help they could get when OZ attacked didn't deter them. 

Treize remained at Milliardo's side most of the night until his friend left with Lucrezia. He then took over the planning of what to do in case of an emergency.

They posted scouts at the topmost turrets of the castle. They readied their knights. They thought they were prepared for whatever was to come. But they weren't prepared. Not even the slightest.

  
  


~*~

  
  


That night as Duo slept fitfully, he was visited by an old friend. Death didn't look happy though. He looked almost worried for his young aide.

"What do you want, old specter?" Duo asked, bored.

"Duo, I'm not here because I want to be." He said softly.

Duo raised an eyebrow, suddenly worried. "Why are you here then?"

"Because I have to be. Those people you saw today in the forest are on their way. That man whose aura you inspected sent word that if they disguised themselves, he could let them in the castle. And they could then assassinate the royal family."

"What else?" Duo asked.

Death said nothing. 

"I know that isn't all! Tell me what else happened!"

"They came from the forest just outside of Dartslun. They ransacked the entire village. They killed so many people, even I was sickened."

Duo felt dread take hold of his heart and fear twisted his stomach. "What about the church? Are Sister Helen and Father Maxwell okay?"

"No." 

The two letter word sent Duo to his knees in front of the cloaked figure before him.

"Did you take them?" He asked, his voice quavering.

"I had no choice."

Duo winced visibly. "Did they suffer?" He asked softly.

"Yes." 

Death felt sympathy course through his corpse like being as he gazed down at Duo.

"You were right." Duo whispered. "You do follow me everywhere. You take everyone I love! Why? Why do this to *me*?" His voice rose in crescendo until he was yelling.

There was no answer. Death couldn't explain that Duo had been chosen long before the world had even come to exist. Again Death had no choice. 

Duo glared up at him and then shook his head. "Get out of my head. If you won't get out of my life at least get out of my head!"

Death hung his head and disappeared, leaving Duo to grieve.

  
  


~*~

  
  


Hilde was jolted awake as she heard a soft sound. She sat up and glanced around. Solo was still sleeping soundly. But Duo wasn't. He was sitting up in his makeshift cot and had his head buried in his arms.

Hilde hopped down from the bed they'd insisted she take and moved toward him. 

"Duo?" She asked softly. 

His head shot up and his eyes skittered around the room, finally landing on her form just behind him. She sat down next to him.

"You're crying? What happened?"

"It was him again." He said softly. "He came to tell me that . . . OZ is coming. They're already here in the kingdom. They went through Dartslun before any other village. They attacked the church and killed Sister Helen and Father Maxwell."

It took a moment for Hilde to fully hear the words. Father Maxwell and Sister Helen were dead? That couldn't be possible. Could it? No, most certainly not. Hilde voiced those thoughts.

"No." She breathed. "No, that's not possible. They can't be dead."

Duo snorted. "Better get used to the idea." 

Hilde wanted to argue with him and tell him that that was wrong. Father Maxwell and Sister Helen were good people. Too good to just die. But OZ didn't much care who was good and who wasn't, did they? They killed for the love of it. And it made sense that they'd want to kill the purest of the pure. Besides, Death had never lied to Duo before and he definitely wouldn't lie about a thing like this . . . 

Which meant that Sister Helen and Father Maxwell really were dead.

Hilde's bottom lip trembled and tears filled her eyes before they spilled over and formed rivulets on her cheeks. She couldn't believe it. They'd become a part of her family when she'd left her parents. They'd protected her, taught her, loved her. And now they were gone. And she'd never even gotten to say goodbye.

She shuddered with a silent sob, wrapped her arms around Duo's waist and buried her head in his neck. His own arms closed around her small body, drawing her close. Hilde inhaled, taking in Duo's unique scent and felt instantly comforted. He'd always had this affect on her. He was her protector, he'd saved her so many times that it made sense she'd feel so much better in his arms. But she also felt something else. Something that unsettled her stomach and made it quiver.

She was so close to him, she could hear him breathing near her ear. Could feel his heartbeat against her chest. Holding him like this felt so good. So right. But it wasn't right. She couldn't afford to feel things like this. Not now when she was grieving, and not later when they'd become a liability. 

She leaned back and removed a hand from around his neck and framed the side of his face with her palm. She wanted to ignore everything common sense was saying, especially when he leaned forward and pressed his forehead to hers and their breath mingled between them.

Sister Helen had always told her to listen to the voices inside because they were almost always right. They were the way the gods communicated with them. She'd even laugh and say that Hilde had a habit of ignoring them in favor of what she had to say to herself. But right at that moment, Hilde ignored herself and listened to the voices. And she realized they were chanting that this was okay. This was right. This was *meant*.

Their noses bumped gently as they angled their heads. Their eyes locked for a moment, Duo's looking violet in the low light and filled with so many emotions. Fear and grief and maybe even love. They were so intense . . . Hilde had to close her own and in that moment he captured her lips with his.

Her lips parted on a soft gasp as his warm lips moved over hers. The kiss was gentle at first, soft and fleeting. They leaned back slightly, their breath hitched in their throats. And then they moved forward again, their lips meeting this time in a kiss that was all pain and healing. She could taste tears on his lips, knew that there were some on hers as well . . . But she didn't care. This felt too good.

And just as quickly as the insanity had started, it ended. They pulled back and stared at each other before she looked away, her arms dropping from around Duo's body.

"I'm sorry . . ." she started.

"Don't say that." Duo interrupted.

She looked up at him and then nodded slowly. 

"What do we do now?" She asked backing up a little.

"We tell Solo. And then we do everything in our power to try and stop this."

Hilde nodded and watched as Duo stood up and then grabbed the hand he held out to her. 

And together they moved woke Solo and then they all spent a few minutes mourning, before they heard a shout from outside.

  
  


~*~

  
  


What was all that shouting? Relena sighed and stood, wrapping herself in a shift and moved to her window. She pushed back the curtains, unlocked the glass panes, and leaned out to see what was going on.

There was a group of men outside, just beyond the moat surrounding the castle. They were shouting for the night guard to let down the drawbridge.

Relena wrinkled her nose. How odd. Especially at this time of night. She had a horrible feeling about this. Obviously the night guard thought it strange as well, because instead of lowering the drawbridge, he called for one of the nightly sentries. 

Relena couldn't hear them, but she did see the sentry leave, and assumed he was going for her father. Well good, at least they were *thinking*. No chances could be taken. Still, Relena would simply have turned them away, telling them that castle rules said that the drawbridge couldn't be opened at night unless they were expected.

Relena, not wanting to sit around and just watch, made her way out of her room, glad that the guards Master Zhing Shin had left her were with her father instead, and sprinted down the halls and to the drawing room. She was nearly hit from behind by three squires who were running down the hall as well. She sped up and fell into step with them. 

"How'd you get past your guards?" She asked, the words slightly breathless.

"We aren't a future commoner vigilantes for nothing, Princess." The braided boy said with a wink. 

Relena blushed and then catching a glare from the dark-haired boy looked down at her feet. 

"Are you going to warn my father as well?" Relena asked.

"Yeah." 

"Well good. I'm glad our future knights are intelligent and see as much wrong with this as I do."

In the back of her mind Relena knew they probably thought it odd for a princess to be able to keep up with them step for step and be able to talk as well. And a part of her hoped they were impressed too. 

They made it to the large, stone stairway that led to the entry hall. They jogged down the steps careful not to slip. They got to the end and stopped short, their mouths agape. The sentry was running out of open doors, yelling that it was okay for the drawbridge to be dropped. 

"No!" The four of them yelled. "No! Don't let him!"

"How did you escape your guards?" A man asked. 

Relena turned quickly and recognized him immediately. It was Richard Longhart, Duke of Leighsweigh. At least that was what he said. But Relena didn't like him and she disliked him even more as she watched him approach the four of them.

"You have no business down here!" He yelled. "You're trying to escape aren't you? Maybe you really did see OZ, but only because you're their spies! You'll be whipped for your treason!"

He took a step toward them but Relena stepped in front of the three of them, arms outstretched. 

"I think not, Richard. As the princess of this castle, daughter of the king and queen, I say you will not have these three whipped. They feel as I do that this situation is a bit suspicious and those men should *not* be allowed within these castle walls! Now give the night guard the order to keep the drawbridge up!"

The man sneered. "Too late Princess. Too late for that, too late for your family, too late for you." 

Her eyes widened as there was a great shout and men came pouring into the castle by the droves, swords raised and blood lust in their eyes.

"You bastard! You lying, sneaking, bastard!" The dark haired squire yelled. "You led them here! Don't try to deny it!" 

He shrugged. "That's life." He said before motioning three men forward. 

"Now, save your princess if you can." And then he was gone.

Relena stared up with wide eyes as a broad sword made a wide, downward sweep. Just before it hit her, Relena was pushed out of the way. There was a loud clang as two swords connected and glanced off of each other. The blonde squire was fending off a larger man, and doing a pretty good job of it.

She glanced to the side of her and saw that the other two were locked in battles with men as well. She ran out of harm's way as men started down the stairs behind her, ready to protect the royal family at all costs. 

It was a pity that none of them knew it was in vain.

~*~

A/N: So, what did you think? Please leave a review and let me know. Thanks a bunch! ^.~

  
  
  
  



	5. Chapter five

Growing Hearts

By: Lady DeathAngel

Disclaimer: don't own them, don't sue me.

Warnings: violence and slight language and gore

A/N: Well, here's another chapter. I'm trying really hard to get the order of my chapters straight. But I'm so busy and it's late. I'm seeing things . . . j/k. Anyway, read, enjoy and review! 

"You three! Find the princess and keep her safe, we'll stay here."

Hilde, Duo, and Solo nodded, and backed away from the battle, their swords still at the ready. 

It was a grisly sight that lay before them. Men were dead and dying everywhere. The women and children who had been curious as to the commotion in the entry hall and had investigated regretted it. It didn't just smell of blood and carnage. It reeked of it.

The king and his small army, if it could even be considered such a thing, were outnumbered, and all they could hope to do was fend them off long enough to get the royal family to safety. That plan wasn't an impossible one however, because the OZ soldiers weren't nearly as skilled as the king's, and more OZ soldiers lay dead than did the king's.

"Where d'you think she went?" Solo asked as they sprinted down the halls.

"I don't know. But we have to find her before something happens . . ."

There was a loud scream just then. It stopped all three of them in their tracks and sent shivers down their spines. 

"Mother!" The same voice cried. "No!"

"It's her." Hilde said. "Come on."

They all started sprinting again, faster than before. The followed the anguished cries to a large bedchamber. The sight that greeted them made Hilde's stomach turn. 

"Oh gods." She said, holding a fist to her mouth.

They'd found Relena all right. And they'd found the queen. Or what was left of her anyway. It appeared that she had been carved nearly to ribbons. Hilde really couldn't tell though. Her entire body, nearly every inch of skin, was covered in bright, red blood. 

Relena was laying across her body sobbing and screaming still. Duo and Solo both glanced at each other. They wanted to help, Hilde could tell. She glanced behind her and then turned to them. 

"Go get her." She breathed. "Be gentle with her. I'll stand watch."

They both nodded and moved to Relena as soon as Hilde turned around. She searched the shadows of the halls for anyone who might have been an enemy. Anyone at all actually. 

She didn't see anything, but she felt something evil in their midst. Something even more evil than the presence of Death that permeated the air they all breathed. Something that had to have come from the most evil of all gods. 

She glanced behind her again, to see Duo coming toward her, Relena in his arms and Solo at his side, his sword drawn, his face set into uncharacteristically hard lines. 

"Let's go." He told Hilde. 

She nodded and started out of the door. They jogged down the hall, all senses alert and waiting for any sound. Any smell. Any sighting of anything suspicious.

Solo stopped suddenly, his eyes wide. "Go back." He whispered. 

They stared at him quizzically. 

"Go back now!" He yelled.

But it was too late. There was a loud, sinister, chuckle and then Hilde couldn't hear anything but a whirring sound in her ears. It sounded like a really strong wind. It lifted and tugged at her short hair viciously. She cried out and clutched at her head with one hand and shielded her eyes with the other. 

She got her eyes open just enough to see something that looked silver and shiny come at her face. She tried to make it out, but it was coming to fast. She dodged it, but she couldn't dodge the next one. It sliced open her cheek. She could feel the blood trickling out of her wound and then it was whipped back by the wind. 

She cried out as more glinting, razor sharp products of the wind sliced through her thin tunic and the breeches she wore. She heard Duo curse and remembered that he had the princess. She felt herself pushed backward and found herself staring at Solo's back.

He said a few words she didn't understand and then there was a flash and the wind stopped blowing and the razors stopped flying. Her hair settled again, and the blood started to fall toward the ground. She glanced over Solo's shoulder and saw that he'd erected a magical shield.

"Solo?" She breathed. 

She could see his mouth turn up in a grim grin. "Didn't know I could do that, did ya?"

She shook her had before resting her forehead against his shoulder for a second. "Thank you." She whispered.

Just then the winds stopped altogether.

"Oh how touching." A mocking voice said. "Really, it's just beautiful."

Solo allowed the shield to drop and Hilde glared at the man that suddenly materialized before them. 

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the resident rat, come to pay a visit." She said with a glare.

"I wouldn't sound so smug if I was you, boy. I've already accomplished what I've set out to do. Well, nearly anyway. After I kill the little princess back there, I'll have fulfilled my goal."

"You aren't going to get her." Duo hissed. "Not now. Not ever."

"Oh really? And I suppose you three think you'll stop me?" He laughed. "Such childish fantasies and delusions will only have you laying dead at my feet sooner. It's better if you just hand the girl over so that I can kill her before I kill you."

"No. If we're going to die either way, we're going to die protecting her." Solo said.

"Hmm. Well, have it your way." He put his right hand in front of his body, curled in his thumb and ring finger, and whispered a few words.

Within seconds his fingertips were all lighted with small balls of fire that he shot at them. They all jumped out of the way just as the fireballs hit the ground where they had been standing. The entire floor shook with the power of the orbs of flames.

Hilde turned her head slightly in Duo's direction. "Get her out of here!" She yelled. "And hurry!"

He nodded and turned to run down the hall, but the man had suddenly appeared in front of him. 

"Oh no, no, no. *This* most certainly will not do." 

Duo backed away quickly, Relena held securely in his arms. The man reached out a hand for Duo, a large ball of fire in his palm. 

"Let's see what can make this situation a little better shall we? Well, killing both you and the princess would be a good start. And then I'll kill your magically inclined friend. And lastly I'll cut out that insolent whelp's tongue and make him regret every brassy word he's ever said to me. But, you two are dying first." His grin was sick and twisted. "Say hello to the god of death for me."

Of course Duo could only stare wide eyed at the flames that threatened to envelope him. He couldn't jump out of the way quickly enough. Not with Relena being a burden in his arms. He didn't need to jump though. Solo ran forward, pushed them both out of the way, and took the blast himself.

Something strange happened though. Instead of being burned completely to cinders, Solo absorbed most of the fire. He didn't look burned too badly, but the force of what did hit him sent him flying backward. His body hit the wall, his head flying back to connect with the stone. The sickening crack that resulted caused Hilde's stomach to turn over and Duo to wince. 

They all watched as his eyes rolled into the back of his head and he slowly fell to the ground. Duo sprinted toward his fallen friend, and Hilde lifted her sword and blocked the path to Solo and Duo. She raised the sword and pointed it at the man who'd dared insult her and try to kill the people who meant the most to her.

"You," She said her eyes narrowing. "Are a worthless, rotten, cur of a human. If you even are human. Gods know you aren't a man anyway. You're stained with blood and your own disgusting qualities. Before this night is through, you will be no more. But I challenge you, here and now, to face me like the man you'll never be. Fight me with a sword and not your demon like powers. Will you?"

"For one so young," he started. "You have the sharpest tongue I've ever encountered. I'll gladly face you with a sword, if only with the hopes of removing the thing from your head!"

"Fine then." Hilde said. "We start now." 

She charged at him, forcing him to yank out his sword and parry her blows. She didn't allow him to get his footing after his first stumbles. He was pressed into a defensive state of attack. He wouldn't win that way. And they both knew it.

Which was why, when he shot ice arrows at Hilde from his free hand in a desperate attempt to survive, it made sense. That didn't, however, mean that Hilde wasn't upset about it. Because she was. She was mighty upset about it. 

Problem was, those ice arrows hadn't missed their mark, and within minutes Hilde's body began to slow down. Her blood turned cold and sluggish in her veins. 

The man laughed. "I see you are enjoying the effects of the ice arrows are you not? They act as a sort of paralyzing poison. Pretty soon you won't be able to draw breath. Your brain will cease functioning. Your heart will stop beating. But most importantly, your tongue, that pretty little muscle of yours, won't be able to illicit a sound." He laughed again, and Hilde brought her sword up, trying to slice him in half from the bottom up. 

It didn't work. He simply blocked and brought his own sword up in the same fashion. She backed away quickly, and the blade did naught but cut her tunic in half. Unfortunately that action revealed the binding she used to hide her breasts from everyone.

The man's eyes widened in disbelief as color flooded Hilde's face. 

"A girl? I was being bested by a *girl*? You're a liar! That's treason!"

She wanted to retort that it was really only a small crime compared to what he'd done, but her tongue had stopped working. Her mind was slowing down as well, and though her body was still quick, she needed to be much quicker to keep this up.

He came at her suddenly, waving his sword around like a maniac. "You're a good pretender girl." He said as his sword sliced through the binding, the exposure of skin followed downward by a ribbon of blood. "You talk like a man. Walk like one. Your voice, hair, skin, nothing reminds one in the least of a woman. But now that I look at you, you are very pretty. A waste, really, of what would have made a good whore. Might still make one. What do you say?"

Hilde's nostrils flared. Her? A whore? Never. She'd rather die. An action she made evident as she brought down her sword in a wide, sweeping arc. 

"I guess that's a no." He said. "Too bad." And then he started attacking again.

But Hilde saw her opening. And she took it. His sword was knocked out of his grasp and flew across the darkened hallway. Hilde bore him down, the point of her sword even with his chest.

She forced her mouth to form words. "Say hello to the god of death for me." She said softly.

In that moment, the man was sure he saw an angel in her. An avenging angel with short dark hair and blazing sapphire eyes, her lips turned down in a ferocious frown. And the sight frightened him. Too bad he didn't like what he was seeing. It was the last thing he ever saw, except for the glinting scythe the god of death used to decapitate him.

~*~

That night became a blood bath that was forever etched in history as the Sanq Massacre. Many men died, as did innocent women and children. The king died in battle while his queen was dying alone in her bed. Their son and his friend Treize disappeared, although they were rumored to be dead as well. 

The town healer, one Sally Po, was called to look after the wounded. Both Solo and Hilde recovered, although Sally's strength was nearly snuffed out as she worked her healing magic on the two of them.

It took many days to clean up the horrid mess made. The stone floors and walls in the entry hall were stained crimson, and upon reentering her castle, Relena thought it fitting. At least then those who entered would never forget those lost. They would never forget who the real enemy was. And they would never forget that chances could never be taken when many lives were at risk.

Chances like those her father took in allowing the disguised OZ soldiers into their home. 

~*~

"Are you sure you can't remain in my castle?"

Hilde, Duo, and Solo shook their heads. "No. We need to return to Neron to see what can be done about our being knighted in four years, now that our knights are . . . gone." Duo answered.

"And you? Will you continue to disguise yourself as a man?" Relena asked Hilde.

She nodded. "It's the only way I'll ever become a knight."

Relena nodded. "I understand. And you needn't worry about me sharing the truth about your identity with anyone, Deux."

Hilde bowed. "Thank you, Your Highness." She said softly.

"And you Solo. Thank you so much for protecting both Duo and I from that man's magical attacks. It was very dangerous, I knew that then and so did you, I suspect. I'll be forever grateful. To all of you. Thank you so much. As the new queen of the Sanq kingdom I'll remember your good deeds forever and the entire kingdom will welcome you back home with open arms, when you wish to return."

They nodded. 

"It's a knight's duty, Princess. We were just doing what we're supposed to." Duo said with a wink. 

She offered him a small smile. "I'm glad you felt compelled to do your duty. Now, I've said my goodbyes. I assume you'll be leaving after the ceremony?"

They nodded. She bowed her head. "Good. I hope to see you again."

They watched her leave with heavy hearts. 

"She'll never be the same, will she?" Hilde said softly. 

"None of us will." Duo replied.

"We're all in this now. Deeper than before." Solo added. 

Hilde and Duo nodded in agreement. "Do you really think we'll be back?" Solo asked after a moment of silence.

"I think it's inevitable. She'll need good knights someday. She does have a whole army to rebuild you know." Duo answered.

"And hopefully, we'll be good enough for her." Hilde said.

"Yeah. Well, let's go to the great hall. She should be giving her speech soon." 

"Right. Let's get going."

And so they left the room that Relena had called them to to say farewell and headed to the great hall to hear her first speech as the Queen of the Sanq kingdom. And then, they were going to leave Sanq in pursuit of knighthood.

~*~

"Excuse me, Your Highness, I need to speak with you a moment."

Relena turned to see her head advisor coming toward her.

"Yes, Lord Landau?"

"There is someone here you need to meet."

Relena frowned but nodded. "All right." 

He nodded as well and turned to walk into a seemingly empty room. It was made apparent that it wasn't empty, however, when a young man stood up and turned to face them.

Relena's breath caught in her throat as she found herself gazing into a pair of eyes so deep and intense she wondered if maybe he wasn't seeing her soul, assessing her mind and heart.

"Queen Relena Peacecraft of the Sanq Kingdom, I present to you Heero Yuy, your new bodyguard."

Relena knew that maybe a few months ago she would have argued the need for a bodyguard, if for no other reason than to argue with Lord Landau. But she knew that it was important she live long enough to marry and produce an heir to throne. And this man would help ensure she stayed alive.

He inclined his head in a bow and Relena's knees sank into a curtsy. 

"I'll leave you two to get acquainted." Lord Landau said. "I'll send for you when you are needed for your speech."

Relena nodded. "Very good." She said and then watched as he left the room.

She faced Heero. "So, you're my bodyguard? Where are you from?"

"The Far East." He answered. "I know Quatre and he thought I'd make a good bodyguard for you."

"Oh? Why was he so sure of you?"

"I have a reputation." He answered, his voice the epitome of cool efficiency. "I'm called the Perfect Soldier by many from the Northern, Southern, Western, and Eastern countries."

"Well, being the Perfect Soldier must mean that you're very skilled . . ."

"Yes."

" . . . Professional . . ."

"Right again."

" . . . Completely aloof with no emotional attachments to anyone or anything whatsoever?"

"Yes. Why?"

Relena smiled, an emotionless upward turn of her lips. "Because, I think I'm a lot like you now. Skilled in politics, professional to the point of being a perfectionist, and completely aloof. With no emotional attachments to anyone or anything whatsoever."

"We should get along well then." He said.

"Well, we'll see won't we?"

He nodded at her, holding her eyes with his own for long moments. Relena felt as if they were both looking for something. What she didn't know. All she did know was that the longer her eyes remained locked with his, the stranger she felt. Her stomach hollowed and her palms began to sweat. She didn't like it. Not one bit. It resembled what could become an emotional attachment. And that just wouldn't do.

"Your Highness, it's time."

Relena turned abruptly to face her new handmaiden, Nana, thankful for the excuse to tear her eyes away from Heero Yuy's.

"Right. Let's go then." She said, the last three words directed at Heero.

He followed her dutifully, standing to the side of her throne as she stood in front of it, ready to make her speech.

She waited for the crowd to quiet before she spoke.

"Just a fortnight ago this kingdom was a very prosperous one. We had wonderful allies in the East and West, we were training many capable young men to become capable young knights. We had many intelligent artists flourishing in our many villages and towns. We had many successful businesses and men and women very competent when it came to handling said businesses. 

"And then the worst imaginable thing happened. OZ attacked us. We weren't the first on their list of kingdoms to conquer. And I'm almost certain we aren't the last. But the damage done to us at the time we were OZ's target was widespread and horrific. 

"Many men, women, and children died. Crops were burned, churches attacked, homes terrorized. Our own castle was invaded due to a traitor with our walls. Our king, queen, and prince were killed, leaving me to take over in their stead.

"I'm not going to lie and say that everything will be all right. Because it won't. We will all continue to grieve. As long as the Maxwell church in Dartslun remains a pile of singed wood, as long as the women of Rina are weeping for their lost sons and husbands and brothers, as long as blood stains the stones in that entry hall crimson we will grieve our losses.

"But grieving often becomes something that we do unconsciously and in the deepest recesses of our hearts, allowing the rest of our bodies, minds, souls, and hearts to move on. And we will move on. We will rebuild all that was lost. We will plant again, where wheat and fruit and vegetables were destroyed. 

"We will train more capable soldiers and more competent men and women will start businesses. We will regain a sense of normalcy that will ensure our children are not born into a kingdom that refuses to regain its footing. They will not grow up with fear in their hearts and on their minds.

"And with this rebirth of our once beautiful kingdom into an even more gorgeous one, we will learn from our mistakes. Take nothing for granted. Take no chances. Act responsibly and intelligently. That will be our new code. That will be what those in charge of military actions here at the castle will repeat in their minds. That will be written on the scrolls given to those who serve this kingdom. That will be the mantra I repeat every day for the rest of my life.

"We will fight to keep such a thing from happening again. We will continue to grieve. We will move on. We will rebuild. But most of all, a year from now, I want to be able to walk through the streets of the many villages here and see smiling men and women and happy children.

"OZ may have brought us to our knees for a time, but we will stand up again. We won't let their evil invade our hearts, our homes, or our kingdom. We will not live in fear of them. And we will refuse to concede to them. That, people of Sanq, will be our day of victory. When we can stand again. Stand and know that we did the exact opposite of what OZ wanted us to do. 

"We won't give up. We will grow, instead, in heart, strength, and intelligence. And we will conquer the feelings of fear, doubt, sadness, and hatred that they brought with them here. We will overpower any remnants of evil that they may have left. We will be more victorious on the day we stand again, than they will ever be."


	6. Chapter Six

Growing Hearts

By: Lady DeathAngel

Disclaimer: don't own them, don't sue me.

Warnings: violence, slight language

A/N: Well, here's another chapter. You know, the one I should have put up last time I updated instead of putting up the same chapter twice. :p Anyway, I'm really sorry that updates are so few and far between, but even during the summer I don't have enough time. ::Sigh:: Anyway, please read, enjoy, and review!

Five Years Later

Hilde, Duo, and Solo were a very happy trio indeed. They had been knighted only a few days before, and were very excited about it. Especially Hilde, not just because it mean that she was finally strong, smart, and grown up, but because she'd done it with no one being the wiser about her true gender.

Granted she still felt a little guilty. After all, a knight's code did entail honesty at all costs. But how else could she have achieved her goal? And besides, it wasn't as if she'd lied to hurt anyone. Only good things had come of it.

"So, where shall we head now?" Solo asked.

Hilde glanced at him and shrugged. "I don't know. We aren't anywhere near home so we can't go there. We should probably just find an inn in the next town and bed down there. We can figure out where to go after that."

They nodded. "Right. Besides, I don't think I could travel anymore if I wanted to. I'm exhausted."

Hilde grinned. "Weakling." She said.

Solo glared at her in mock anger. "Weakling am I? This coming from the girl who screamed last night when a big bad beetle crawled into her shirt while she was sleeping."

"It scared me." Hilde said, turning forward in her saddle, nose high in the air. "And besides, you wouldn't have liked it a bit, had you thought someone was running a finger over your . . ."

She glanced behind her to see both Duo and Solo staring at her with interest.

"Oh don't mind us." Duo said waving a hand when he noticed she'd stopped talking. "Go on. You were saying that that beetle was like a finger that was . . . where?"

"You're insatiable Duo." Hilde said with a hmph. 

He winked at her. "Of course. What kind of knight would I be otherwise?"

"Probably a homosexual one." Solo said, answering Duo's question.

"And that," Duo said. "I am definitely not."

"I would argue that." Hilde said, glancing behind her. "But the fact that you and Solo are regular customers at every whorehouse this side of the Nitoo River wouldn't agree with me."

"Speaking of whorehouses . . ." Solo said, with a pointed look ahead of them.

Hilde turned her gaze forward again and sighed. "Do you ever think of anything else?" She asked, already knowing the answer.

"Not really." Solo answered as both he and Duo clicked their tongues and kneed their horses forward at a faster pace. 

Hilde shook her head but sped up as well. "I hope you both know that your lust addled brains are going to be the death of you someday. And when you're both dying and in pain because you couldn't stop thinking about some strange woman's breasts I'll be staring down at you feeling no pity at all."

Duo and Solo shared a look. A look that Hilde didn't like one bit.

"What?" She asked wearily.

"Oh nothing." Duo said as he and Solo looked away quickly. "Nothing at all."

Hilde nudged her horse forward a little more until she was in between Duo and Solo. She glanced first at Duo on her left and then at Solo on her right. 

"Oh no you don't." She said. "You can't share a look like *that* and then tell me that nothing is going on. Now, tell me."

"Nothing is going on. Honestly." Duo said. But really, who would believe Duo when he finished a thought with the word 'honestly'? It made him sound all the more suspicious to Hilde. 

She raised an eyebrow. "Hmmm . . ." Was all she said.

Solo sighed. "Fine. We'll tell you what that look meant. You're jealous aren't you?"

Hilde halted to a stop her eyes wide. "Jealous?! Of what?!"

"*You* know." Duo said pointedly, stopping as well.

"You're jesting!" Hilde said, genuinely shocked. "You think I'm jealous of a bunch of . . . of . . . wide hipped, ample chested, gap toothed *whores*?!"

"Now wait a moment Hilde," Solo started. "We didn't mean anything by it . . ."

Hilde just clicked her tongue and started forward again at a trot. 

"Hilde, don't be this way!" Duo called.

She didn't stop. "I'm going ahead." She called over her shoulder, her voice calm and steady. "There will be a room waiting for you at the inn. Have fun though, with your little friends. I *won't* be awake when you return, so take your time."

They both made to stop her, but she suddenly disappeared in a small cloud of dust, her trot turning quickly into a gallop.

Duo and Solo sighed and then stopped their horses outside of the whorehouse and tied them up. It was probably just her monthlies, they thought. She was given to violent moodswings during that time. Still, they couldn't help but wonder if she'd been so upset because she really *was* jealous.

Of course that couldn't be true. Hilde wasn't one to give in to romantic or sexual feelings. She was practically a man herself, not a woman. Why would she be jealous? It was an annoying bugger of a thought though, that didn't go away all night. A thought that plagued all three minds of the newly knighted knights.

~*~

"Excuse me, but you must leave while we dress Her Majesty."

Relena glanced over her shoulder just as Heero walked into her borrowed bedchamber. He leaned a shoulder against the wall a few feet away from the door and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Don't mind me." He said in his deep, monotonous voice. 

"But it isn't at all proper . . ."

Relena held up a hand, turning her back on her bodyguard. 

"Don't try to budge him Min, he won't move an inch."

"Oh, but Your Majesty, what will be *said* about you?"

Relena smiled softly, a completely humorless smile. "Nothing that hasn't already been said, believe me."

Min glanced skeptically at Heero and then nodded. "Well, if Your Majesty insists . . ." She motioned to three other girls who had been kneeling in the back of the room, their heads lowered nearly to the ground.

They all stood up and crowded around Relena, tugging at her hair, removing the robe from her shoulders and slipping a body hugging piece of silk over her body in its place. As they worked, Relena was keenly aware of Heero's eyes on her. Not that the sensation was new. She'd become quite used to knowing when he was staring at her. 

When they were finally done, Relena's head ached. They'd pulled her long, honey blonde tresses back from her head into an intricate twist at the nape of her neck. It was secured by two long, jade sticks, both adorned with white pearl dragons on the very top.

Her dress was traditional of Chinese culture, fitting her curves like a second skin. The silken dress was a soft pearl color, almost the same as the dragons in her hair, and it was sprinkled with jade green lotus blossoms. She felt so different in it, compared to her usual low necked dresses with their long sleeves and bulky skirts. She felt freer, and more alluring. Almost ethereal.

As soon as Min and the other hand servants were gone Heero made his way toward her. She smiled at him as he approached.

"Well, how do I look? Quatre thought it would be best if I tried to fit in here, instead of proclaiming to all of the Eastern lands that I am Queen Relena of the Sanq Kingdom."

"His logic is well placed." Heero said. "You could be targeted easily, should any stray OZ soldiers still be in the area."

"The blonde hair is still a dead give away." Relena said softly before turning away to stare out of the small door in her room at the courtyard. 

"Tell me again, why I'm here." She said.

"Because, you believe firmly that Sally Po is his son's last chance. You also felt that it was your duty to personally extend your condolences to Wufei and Quatre for their losses to OZ."

Relena nodded. "Yes, but, I feel so out of place here." She sighed and was silent for a moment before she spoke again. "I still remember the first time I met Wufei and his wife Meiran. It was embarrassing, to say very little about the experience. They didn't respect me because they thought that I defiled their customs and traditions, simply by bowing to Master Zhing Shin. I realize now that in a way they were right. It wasn't right for me to act like them when I knew nothing of the background of their customs. I was just copying them with no real knowledge of them. I feel as though I'm doing that now. It isn't a pleasant feeling."

"It's a natural one though." Heero said. "And it just proves that you have a veritable amount of respect for these people."

Relena turned toward him with an almost pained look on her face. "Don't say things like that." She said. "It makes me sound a far better person than I am."

He opened his mouth to reply, but was cut off as Min returned. 

"Master Chang Wufei will see you now." She said.

Relena nodded. "Right. Shall we go?" She asked Heero. 

He nodded and fell into step behind her as she made her way to see Wufei for the first time since that fateful night so many years ago.

~*~

"Jealous! They think I'm jealous!" Hilde cried, sitting on the small bed in her inn room. "Well that just goes to prove how stupid men actually are."

She fell back against the pillows and laid an arm over her eyes. "Or maybe they aren't stupid. God's bones I can't be jealous. Not of some two-bit, town whores! That's absurd!"

'But it's true, isn't it?' A little voice inside of her whispered.

Hilde sat up and ran a hand through her hair. Of course it wasn't true. Was it? Maybe it was. But what if it was? What did that make her? 

She stood abruptly and walked to the small window across from her bed. She opened the shutters and leaned out, breathing the cool evening air in deeply. She supposed that maybe she was a little jealous. But what girl wouldn't be? It seemed that she shared her two best friends with countless numbers of faceless women.

She didn't think it was at all fair, really. Hilde had been deprived of so much, all because of some stupid, asinine promise she made to her parents when she was too young to understand what it entailed. She would never marry. Never know a lover. Never feel what it was like to be wanted as a woman, or be looked upon as if she were the most beautiful creature on the earth. 

So yes, she was jealous because at least whores knew what it was like to become as physically close to someone else as possible. Hilde would never know that. 

She sighed. What was she thinking? It didn't matter that she'd die a virgin. At least she wouldn't die in a convent somewhere with a chastity belt locked tightly around her waist, right? She wasn't going to live to be a shriveled up old maid who hated children and flowers and the pure exhiliration being happy brought a person. She was at least going to die knowing that she had kept that promise. She was going to die knowing she'd protected innocent lives and had done all she could to defend her cause. 

She was going to die a virgin all right, but she'd be damned before she died a worthless, prune of a virgin.

That thought in mind, she closed the window and pulled on a pair of boots. She opened the door, left her room, locked the door, pocketed the key, and strolled down the stairs. 

She wandered through the inn and out into the streets. She was hungry, but she didn't want the food they offered at the inn. She rather missed being able to just stroll up to a street vendor's cart and swipe an apple with him none the wiser. She wasn't going to steal, obviously she had no need to do that. But she did miss eating an apple or any other kind of food really, straight off a vendor's cart.

As she walked she heard a soft cry in an alley. She stopped and craned her neck in the direction of the sound. She didn't hear it again, and forced her heart to stop beating so hard. But for some reason her hackles were raised like those on a dog, and she sensed danger.

She heard the cry again and took it as a sign to see just what was going on. She walked across the dirt road and into the darkened alleyway. She glanced around, all senses alert, but saw nothing except shadows and scurrying rats.

"Someone help me! Please!"

Hilde's head shot up at the calls for help, and she started running immediately. 

The sight she was greeted with made her stomach turn. A woman with curly brown hair was being held down by two men, while another grabbed her dress and was about to rip it down the middle.

Hilde, who had been searching for her voice finally found it. 

"Let her go!" she cried. 

The man holding the woman's dress let go of the fabric, leaving it still in tact, and looked up at Hilde with a smirk.

"What did you say?"

"You heard me." Hilde replied.

"Oh come now." He said, standing up. "You're a man, you know of a man's needs. This wench here was just pleasing us. She likes doing things this way."

He eyed Hilde and then stepped to the side and inclined his head in the direction of the woman. 

"You could join us."

Hilde's lip curled in disgust. "You make me sick." She said. "You lie to me as if you think me the town idiot. I know what you're doing to her! Now let her go!"

The man's eyes narrowed and flashed. 

"What kind of man are you?" He asked loudly. "Here we are, giving you a whore for *free* and you turn us down!"

"I'm the kind of man who doesn't need the village pigs to hold a woman down in order to pleasure myself." Hilde hissed.

He growled and took a menacing step toward her.

"If you think I'm frightened," Hilde said, her voice softly threatening. "You're sadly mistaken. I've faced down men twice your size and had them at my feet begging for mercy within minutes."

The man sneered. "Yes, I know that." He said.

Hilde's eyes widened. "What?"

He took another step toward her. "We know all about you." He said, signaling to his friends to release the woman. She scrambled to her feet and ran, but none of them noticed.

"We know where you used to live, we know of your allegiance to Queen Relena of the Sanq Kingdom, we know of that night so long ago when you and your two other knight friends murdered one of our own. We also know what a bleeding heart you happen to be."

"And you used that woman to get me here."

He nodded. 

Hilde forced the fear she felt coursing through her body into remission. She couldn't afford to let terror cloud her mind. Instead she smirked.

"Well, you've got me here. Now what are you going to do?"

"I'm so glad you asked." He said with a smirk of his own.

A second later she felt her arms yanked behind her roughly by the man's two friends. She tried to wriggle away, but they held her in a vice like grip. A cry of frustration burst from her lips.

"Not too much now are you?" The man asked, leaning in a little closer.

Hilde glared at him and then realized what she could do. 

She waited for the man to lean in just a hair's breadth closer and then she brought a leg up. Her heel clipped his chin, forcing his entire head to snap backward. 

He stumbled and held his jaw before leveling Hilde with an evil glare. "Little bastard." He hissed. "You'll regret that."

"We'll see." Hilde said before pulling her arms out of the loosened grips of the two men.

She jumped back and crouched into a defensive stance. The other men chuckled.

"So, the little man thinks he knows Eastern combat styles, does he? Well then, give him a taste of what you know."

One of the quiet men stepped forward and tossed his cloak into a darkened alley corner. He crouched in front of her as well. 

They both stood staring at each other for a moment before he flew at Hilde and made a jab at her chest. She dodged it easily and clipped him in the back of the neck. He went down and he went down hard. She sighed and shook her head. "That was too easy." She said. 

The man tried to get up. "Oh no you don't." She said, kicking him in the back and then stepping on his wrist to keep him down.

"Let you in on a secret big guy?" She said softly leaning toward him. "I trained under Master Zhing Shin. I'm not going to be defeated by you. That would be an insult to him, and everyone knows you don't insult the dead. At least not if you want the god of death's favor."

"And you think you have his favor." The man grunted.

"I don't think so. I know so." 

She hit him again in the neck, knocking him out instantly.

She turned to the other two, her eyes blazing.

"I don't know who you are," she said. "And I don't know how you know me, but I want some answers and before this is over, I'll have them."

"What makes you so sure about that?"

"I can be very persuasive when I have to be."

"Heh." Was his calm reply. 

A split second later he uttered a word that caused a blinding flash behind Hilde's eyes. She cried out and rubbed at them, but even when she closed her eyes it was shocking white and it hurt just as badly.

"Oh yes, you're *very* persuasive." A mocking voice said from behind her.

She turned and struck out in the direction of the voice, but her pitiful blow was blocked and there was no way for her to defend herself against the fist that connected solidly with the side of her skull.

She crumpled to the ground with a groan which quickly turned into a yelp as a booted foot kicked her in the ribs. She barely registered the sound of laughter through the pain that was curling itself around and slithering through her body as he kicked her again and again, and was soon joined by the other man who repeatedly kicked her in the back.

She was finally lifted up by the hair. She still couldn't see the man, but she felt his hot breath on her face and fought the urge to recoil.

"You're a very pretty boy." He said in a low voice. "Despite your stubborn nature and pigheadedness you would make a good bed partner."

Hilde shuddered. "I'd rather die." She said.

"That can be arranged," the man said, Hilde sensing that he was moving closer. "After I've had my way with you."

He lowered his lips to hers. She jerked her head to the side, breaking off the contact, but he didn't want that.

He yanked savagely on her hair, turning her head back toward his, and then pulling it back until her throat was completely at her mercy.

Just when Hilde thought that the wet slobbery kisses would never end, just when she thought she'd not only be discovered but be taken against her will as well, there was a male cry of pain. 

The man holding her, dropped her to the ground and turned.

"What the . . ." His words ended in a groan and Hilde felt his body fall on top of hers. 

She shuddered. "Get him off." She said, near hysteria. "Somebody please get him off."

"Please calm down." Said a distinctly female voice. "I need you calm if I'm going to remove him."

Hilde immediately stilled and waited for her savior to move the man. It only took seconds, but it felt like hours to Hilde. And by the time he was off, she'd fainted dead away from shock.

A/N: So, what did you think? I'll work on getting chapters posted more frequently, but I can't make any promises. ^.^; In the meantime, please tell me what you thought in a review. ^.~ 


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